Multiple-guide-row stacked-cake receiving and assembling machine



P. RASMUSSEN. MULTIPLE GUIDE ROW STACKED CAKE RECEIVING AND ASSEMBLINGMACHINE.

APPLICATION EILED AUG-30. 1920.

Patented Nov. 22, 1921.

lllllll llllll UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

PETER RASMUSSEN, OF DENVER, COLORADO, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-HALF TO STEPHENKNIGHT, OF DENVER, COLORADO.

MULTIPLE-GUIDE-ROW STACKED-CAKE RECEIVING AND ASSEMBLING- MACHINE.

Patented Nov.22,1921.

Application filed August 30, 1920. Serial No. 406,929.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, PETER RAsMUssEN, a citizen of the United States ofAmerica, residing at the city and county of Denver and State ofColorado, have invented new and useful Multiple-Guide-Row Stacked- CakeReceiving and Assembling Machines, of which the following is aspecification.

My invention relates to a multiple guide row stacked-cake receiving andassembling machine, and the objects of my invention are:

First. To provide a machine that will receive cakes in stacked form andwill confine them in separate rows and convey them where they can beeasily and quickly removed from the machine in edgewise stacked groupsand placed in shipping boxes.

Second. To provide a stacked-cake receiving machine having a pluralityof adjustably widening or narrowing stacked cake guides, adapted toreceive between them cal-res of different sizes, and

Third. To provide a stacked cake receiving machine that is provided withan upwardly inclined, vertically adjustable and counterbalanced endlessbelt that is hinged to the horizontal portion of said conveyer.

Fourth. To provide a'complete and thoroughly practical multiple guiderow stackedcake receiving and assembling machine.

I attain these objects by the mechanism illustrated in the accompanyingdrawings, in which- Figure 1 is a side elevation of the improvedmachine.

Fig. 2 is a transverse sectional View thereof, on the line 22 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a side view of a portion of the forward end of the machine,the near leg being omitted for clearer illustration.

Fig. 1 is a plan view of a portion of the forward end of the machine,showing the plate for bridging the gap between the conveyer drum and theend of the conveyer supporting table.

Fig. 5 is a plan view of the mechanism for raising and lowering theconveyer drum and the inclined board which supports the forward portionof the conveyer, and

Fig. 6 is a fragmentary plan view showing the manner of hinging one endof the inclined conveyer-supporting table.

Similar letters of reference refer to similar parts throughout theseveral views.

Referring to the drawings:

The numeral 1, designates the supporting frame of my cake row receivingand assembling machine. 2, designates its cake receiving end, and 3, itscake discharging end.

At the opposite corner posts 4:, of the lower end of the frame, Irotatively mount in bearingsb, vertical rods 6, the lower end portionsof which are threaded, and on these rods I threadedly mount yoke-shapedboxes in which a shaft 8, is journaled that ex tends across the end ofthe machine and on which a drum 9, is secured, on which is mounted oneend of an endless canvas belt 10, the opposite end of which is mountedon a roller 11, that is secured on a shaft 12, that is iournaled insliding boxes 18, that are mounted in a slideway 13 and the boxes 13,are adjusted to tighten the conveyer belt by hand screws 13 which passthrough the ends of the slideways and through the blocks in the usualmanner.

The bearings 5, are formed on metal bars 5 which are secured to theposts 4:, and the upper ends of the threaded rods 6, have rigidlymounted thereon, bevel gears 6 which mesh with bevel pinions 6 on a rod6 which is journaled in bearing 6, also formed on the upper ends of thebars 5 One end of the rod 6 is provided with an operating hand wheel 6by which the rod with its pinions 6 is rotated, and the gear 6 and rods6, are thereby turned, by which the boxes 7, are raised or lowered, withthe drum 9, which is mounted in said boxes.

The upper part of the'conveyer is supported at its angular turn by aroller 13 and an inclined. board underneath it, which will be presentlydescribed, and the lower part of the conveyer belt is supported on aroller 13 which is mounted on the frame as shown in Figure 1.

One end of the shaft 8, is provided with sprocket wheels 14, ofdifferent diameters, any one of which is adapted to be connected by achain to a similar sprocket wheel on a driven shaftnot shownof the cakedelivering part of a complete cake stacking machine, such as isillustrated in my issued Patent Number 1,217,845 dated February 27,

1917, and also in my pending application,

Serial N 0. 406,928 filed August 30th, 1920.

My present invention relates to improvements in the rear or cake row,assembling part of the machine, and is an improvement on my issuedpatent, including the improvements made in this rear end part to date.Upon the side rails 17, that are secured to thecorner end posts of thesupporting frame portion of the belt merges into the horizontal portion,as will appear by reference to Fig.1. 7

The forward, ends of the inclined portions of the guides 21, however,are supported by standards 25, which are secured to supports on theforward GHCl'Of an inclined board 26, that forms a supporting tableportion for the endless belt conveyer; slotted straps 27,

are secured to the side edges of this board 26, and bolts 15 extendthrough the slots of the straps, and into the boxes 7, whicharrangement'causes the conveyer supporting board to be loweredfor raisedwith the boxes 7, and the drum 9, and the lower end of the conveyer10,-sothat the hinged members of the guides will move simultaneouslywith theinclined portion of the belt when the drum Sis raised orlowered.

The guide bars 21, are preferably in the 'form of angle bars, and bysliding the supports laterally on'the rods 19, the space be tween'theguide bars 21, may be varled to suit the diameter of the cakes passingover the machine, so that the cakes are maintained in a uniform columnof unvarying width duringthelr progress toward the discharge end of theconveyer 10. The guide bars are held at the desired position of ad-.justment by thumb screws 28, in threaded apertures in the supports 20,which are screwedagainst the rods 19, and. thus hold the supports,WltlliillGll rails, in the pos tion desired. A horizontal 7 board 29',is also placed under the horizontal portion of the 'conveyer.

I prefer-ably illustrate three sets of stacked cake confining guide barsin my present 1mproved machine, as my present. machine is adapted to beconnected to the discharging ends of the cake stackln'g chutesillustrated in my pending application, Serial No. 406,930 iiled August30, 1920.

Inasmuch asthe lower end of thecon veyer',with its three sets of cakeguiding bars and its roller and shaft and the lower end of'the beltsupporting board are too heavy to move upwardly easily when the handwheel is turned to rotate the threaded rods that are threaded to theconveyer shaft supporting boxes, I provide the opposite sides of theframe and the conveyer with a counter-weight mechanism that ispreferably constructed as follows:

To the side rails of the frame I mount rope sheaves 30, on, a shortshaftor bolt 31, which is secured to the side rails, and extend a rope32, over it, one end of which is secured'to the inclined conveyer beltsupporting board '26, and the other end of the rope is secured to weight33, which is heavy enough to permit the lower end of the conveyer toberaised easily by the hand wheel and cross-shaft that raises theshaft-supporting boxes of the lower end of the con veyer. r

' After the belt 10, has been placedonthe machine and tightenedsufficicntly,.by ad-- justing the boxes l3', which support the I roller11, further means are employed for taking up the slack of the belt, whenthe drum 9, and board 26, are raised or lowered,

and .thusmaintaining a uniform tension of the belt.

The means employed consists of a metal roller 34, having trunnions 35,which are supported in yoke-shaped brackets 36, which are secured totheunderedgcs of thelside bars 1. about midway of the length'of thehorizontal table 29. This roller rests upon the under lap. of thebeltlO, as shown in Fig.

1, and maintainsa uniform tension of the belt, at all times, as theinclination of the board 26, is changed, to meet requirements arisingfrom the different characters of goods which are run over the belt.

' That half off the machine having the stationary horizontal beltsupporting table 29, is the part from which the cakes are taken andplaced in boxes by attendants, who stand on opposite sides of themachine. To

the side bars 17., on opposite sides of thispart of the machine, arehinged side boards 3'7, which are held in horizontal positions by arms38, which are hinged at one end to the outer edge portions of the sideboards, and their inner ends are bent at a suitable angle, and areprovided with slots 39, which open through the said ends of the arms. 7

The middle and rear legs 40, of the machine are provided with headedbolts 41, whichreceive the slotted ends of the arms, and thus supportthe side boards in horizontal positions, These side boards support thecake receivin boxes and may also receive' the cakes, which are afterwardplacedin boxes. 'When the machine is not running, the side boards may bedropped to vertical positions, as shown by dotted lines, Fig. 2, so asto be out of the way, and this is accomplished by simply disconnectingthe slotted ends of the arms 38, from the bolts 4L1.

It will be apparent that when the hinged board 26 is raised to approacha horizontal position, its free end will lie close to the face of thedrum 9, and when the board is lowered, its free end recedes from theface of the drum, thus leaving a gap or space between the drum and theend of the board. It is necessary to bridge this gap for the followingreasons: Cakes are supplied to this end of the belt 10, by a pluralityof stackforining chutes l2, which are de scribed in my co-pendingapplications above referred to, and the discharge ends of these chutesrest upon that part of the conveyer 10, beneath which the gap occurs,and this part of the conveyeris supported from beneath, in the followingmanner:

A rod 43, extends across the front end of the machine, and its ends aresupported on the boxes 7. A thin metal plate 4 1, of the width of theconveyer, is secured at one end upon the said rod by forming a roll uponthe end of the plate and passing the rod through the said roll. Theplate extends over onto the free end of the board 26, and between theboard and the conveyor, thus bridging the gap between the drum and theend of the board, and supporting the conveyor, where the chutes rest.

In operation this machine receives cakes that have been stacked intorows in the stacking chutes of that part of a complete cake stackingmachine that is positioned ahead of my present machine and that ispositioned to discharge its stacked cakes between the adjustable guidebars of my present machine, and the endless conveyer belt conveys themin these rows in which they are discharged, in overlapping relation toeach other, between its guiderails, as these three sets of guide railsare positioned to stand in alinement with the discharge ends of thechutes, a fragmentary view of which is shown operatively connected tothe lower cake receiving end of my present cake assembling and removingmachine, which conveys them in continuous stacked groups between theirguide bars on top of the horizontal portion of the machines, whoseoperators standing on opposite sides of the machine, scoop each group ofstacked cakes as it is conveyed in front of them, into edgewise stackedrows, and liftthem from the guides and machine and place them in ship--ping boxes.

The object of raising or lowering the lower end of the endless inclinedstackedcake-receiving machine is that some sizes and kinds of cakesretain the overlapping stacked form in which they leave the disreceiving portion is a very essential part,

and my invention contemplates its adaptation to any of the cake stackingmachines in use, and especially cooperatively connected I to and forminga part of the cake receiving and dividing head end machine and also ofthe cake stacking chutes machine illustrated in my two pendingapplications herein mentioned.

My inventionprovides a simple practical machine for handling largequantities of cakes in stacked form so they can be readily removed byattendants and placed instantly in rOWS in shipping boxes, and while lhave illustrated and described the preferred construction andarrangement of my machine, I do not wish to be limited to it as changesmay be made without departing from the spirit of my invention.

Havin described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secureby Letters Patent is:

1. A multiple guide row stacked cake receiving and assembling machine,comprising a supporting frame and an endless,-traveling, stacked cakeconveying belt. mounted therein, having an upwardly inclined portion,and a horizontal portion; means for raising or lowering the inclinedportion and for counterbalancing the weight of said inclined portion;said inclined portion of said endless, traveling belt being pivotallyconnected to said horizontal portion; said endless, traveling, stackedcake conveying belt being provided with a plurality of independentlyadjustable cake guideways.

2. A multiple guide row stacked cake re ceiving and assembling machine,comprising a supporting frame and an endless, traveling, stacked cakeconveying belt mounted therein, having an upwardly inclined portion. anda horizontal portion; means for raising or lowering the inclined portionand for counterbalancingthe weight of said inclined portion; saidinclined portion of said endless, traveling belt being pivotallyconnected to said horizontal portion; said endless, traveling, stackedcake conveying belt being provided with a plurality of independentlyadjustable cake guideways; and means including screw -actuated sliding'means boxes for supporting one end of said endless cake conveyor, andfor tightening the same. 3. 1i multiple guide row stacked cake re-'ceiving assembling machine, comprising a supporting frame and anendless, traveling, stacked cake conveying belt mounted. thereimhavingan upwardly inclined por tion, and a horizontal portion; means forraising or lowering the inclined portion and for counterbalancing theweight of said inclined portion; said inclined portion of said endless,traveling belt being pivotally connected to said horizontal portion;said end less, traveling, stacked cake conveying belt being providedwith a plurality of independently adjustable cake guic'leways; andincluding screw-actuated sliding boxes for supporting one end of saidendless cake conveyer, and fortightening the same; and means includingflat board memthreaded rods and the counterbalancingweight for raisingand lowering the lower on of the inclined portion of said conveyer, ahinged board for supporting the upper lap of the said inclinedportion'ofthe conveyer and adjustabletherewith; and'the plurality oflaterally adjustable stacked-cake;guide ways on the surface of bothinclined and horizontal portions of said Conveyors, the.

portions'of said guidewayson the q'iwardly inclined portion of saidconveyer being arranged. to be raised or lowered with said conveyer, thescrew actuated boxes for supporting and adjusting the tension of saidconveyer, and 'withthe lower end of said (3011-. veyer being arrangedandadapted to be connected to the discharging ends of cakestackingchutes. o p

5; In a machine of the characterdcscribed, the combination with a frame,a table sup ported therein, comprising a fixed horizontal portion, and ahinged inclined portion, journal boxes on one end of said frame andVmeans for raising and lowering the same, a

drum supported in said boxes, means con necting the free end of saidinclined table with said boxes, a roller atthe opposite end of saidframe, an endless conveyer extending around said drum and said rollerand supported by said table, means for automaticallymaintaining thetension of tho belt when the drum israised or lowered, pairs the frontend of'the frame and hinged at its inner end in'said frame, a horizontaltable extending from the hinged end of themclined table to the other endof the frame, threaded vertical rods supported in bearings on thefrontend of the frame, journal boxes threadedto said rods, and means forturning said, rods thereby to raise or lower said 7 boxes, slotted armssecured to the free end of said inclined table, and bolts extendingthrough said slots and connecting said slotted armsloosely with saidboxes, whereby the free end of the said table is raised or lowered'withsaid boxes, a drum supported in said boxes, an adjustable roller in theopposite end of said frame, an endless conveyer extending aroundsaiddrum and said roller and supported by said tables, a roller forsupporting the under lap of said belt, a relatively heavy roller whichrests upon the lower lap of said belt, yoke shaped brackets on saidframeifor supporting the ends of said roller, means for supplyingmaterial to the vertically adjustable end 'of the conveyer, and meanswhereby said drum may beconneoted with an operating source. 7

'7. In a machine of the character described, a frame,journal boxes onthe front end of the frame, and means for raising and lowerin'g'thesame, an inclined table hinged at its inner end midway .ofthe length ofthe, frame, and a. horizontal table extending thence to theopposite endof the'frame, means for connecting the free end of'the inclined tablewith said boxes wherebysaid end is raised andlowered with said boxes, adrum supported in said boxes in proximity to the said end of the table,the space between the drum and the'end of the table beingincreased ordiminished as the inclination of the table is changed;. a roller in theopposite end of the frame, anendless conveyer extending around said drumand roller, and supported by said tables, means, beneath the conveyorfor bridging the space between the drum and the endof the inclinedtable, chutes for "delivering material to said conveyer, thedischarge ends of which rest on said conveyerabo've said bridgingmeansfand sprocket wheels on the drum shaft, whereby power may beapplied to said drum. V a.. '7

783A frame, journal boxes on the front end of the frame andmeans forraising and lowering them, a drum mounted in said boxes, an inclinedtable, extending from a point adjacent the drum, and hinged at its innerend in said table, a horizontal table extending from the hinged end ofthe inclined table to the opposite end of the frame, a roller in thelatter end of the "frame, arms connecting the free end of the inclinedtable with said boxes, whereby the table is raised or lowered with saidboxes, a rod resting on said boxes, a plate secured to said rod andoverlapping the adjacent end of the table, an endless conveyer extendingaround said drum and roller and supported by said tables, chutes fordelivering material to the 15 adjustable end of said belt, theirdischarge ends resting on said conveyer above said plate, means forautomatically maintaining the tension of the belt, when the boxes areraised or lowered, and sprockets on said 20 drum shaft, by which saiddrum may be connected with driving means.

In testimony whereof I aflix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

PETER RASMUS'SEN. Witnesses:

G. SARGENT ELLIOTT, AMY E. NACE.

